Among the aids employed in martial arts conditioning and training are the type of devices known generally as freestanding heavy bags and bodies. In such devices, a heavy bag, or a head and torso in resemblance of an opponent, is mounted to a base member either directly or through an intermediary of a supporting post. The bag or torso is designed to be struck by and withstand blows from the student such as by his head, hand, elbow, knee or foot. Generally, the bag or torso is tough but sufficiently soft to afford the student the opportunity to strike the target during training repeatedly, and this without being a cause for bruising of or other more serious injury to the student. The composition of the base member and any supporting post is generally that of a hard material such as a rigid plastic, and typically the base member takes the form of a bulbous mass having a hollow interior, into which sand or water is provided to stabilize the device for receiving the blows to the bag or body mounted thereon. Since the base, in spite of the sand or water, may slide, a cover with skid-resistant bottom and mesh sides may be mounted on the base.
It would be desirable to improve upon such systems.